Anthropology is a field which is constantly evolving and which constantly needs to be checked for proper procedure, language, interpretation, and ethics. In Socio/cultural Anthropology, essays are frequently written to aid anthropologists in remaining neutral and not reporting a biased ethnography. In the field of Gender Archaeology, Rosemary Joyce's book Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives(2009), forces the reader to ask what cultural aspects should be attributed to gender. One particularly thought provoking example in Joyce's work is when she refers to an article by archaeologist Tim Yates which focuses on Bronze Age rock art in Scandinavia.
This rock depicts human figures with small variations on each one. Some archaeologists interpret these variations to be differences in gender and assigned either male or female to each of these figures. Yates points out the contradictions in this method of defining the gender of these figures. He instead suggests that the rock art in question is not supposed to represent male and female gender roles, but rather is a comment on a continuum of aggressive masculinity.
[...] Some archaeologists interpret these variations to be differences in gender and assigned either male or female to each of these figures. Yates points out the contradictions in this method of defining the gender of these figures. He instead suggests that the rock art in question is not supposed to represent male and female gender roles, but rather is a comment on a continuum of aggressive masculinity. The figures with more masculine features are meant to represent warriors in contrast with common citizens. [...]
[...] Status within the home, economic and political status outside the home, and status of age are all contributing factors to the divisions within the family and should be more thoroughly considered. Works Cited Joyce, Rosemary. 2009.Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives: Sex, Gender, and Archaeology. Thames and Hudson. Yentsch, Ann E. 1991 The Symbolic Divisions of Pottery: Sex-Related Attributes of English and Anglo- American Household Pots. In The Archaeology of Inequality. Randall H. McGuire and Robert Paynter, eds. pp.192-230. Oxford: Blackwell. [...]
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